Monthly Archives: April 2016

Cell phone which has become a necessity for everyone is a boon to all of us. Cell phone help us to keep in touch with our friends , family and acquaintances , getting oneself updated with whats-happening-around-the-world, taking the stress off with online banking , shopping and various other app facilities which we are only too happy to use.

Now think of this…. have you ever felt your phone vibrating or ringing, but when you actually you remove it from your pocket or purse to answer it and you realize, that it just wasn’t ringing or buzzing in the first place? Many of us are guilty of this phenomena where we keep checking our phones thinking it has vibrated only to find no one has called. This sensory hallucination has a name – Phantom Vibration Syndrome (PVS) aka Phantom Ringing. It’s a 21st century phenomenon experienced by millions of people everyday across the globe.

A recent research has shown that the city based doctors are witnessing 30-40 percent rise in such patients. In current scenario the way the younger generation are addicted to cell phones it will not be surprising that the figures of patient having PVS will rise to 60-70 percent in short span of time.

Many people constantly worry about possible calls or messages on their phone and hence get the feeling of their phone vibrating or ringing. This can lead to loss of concentration while work or while studying. Such syndrome also leads to increase in number of accidents as the person checks the phone while driving. Also not to forget that too much addiction of phones leads to social and occupational problems too.

People suffering from PVS feel the phone is ringing even when they are away from the phone. The frequency of checking the mobile phones increases intensely. With high intensity increases ones anxiety and also leads to distress. There are cases found in young generation where in they feel their phone’s ringing even in their dreams and hence the person wakes up in the middle of the night to check for any calls or messages.

Just a note of caution that incase if you are feeling that your phone vibrates or hearing the ringtone and infact nothing sort of it has happen, then you are one of the victim of PVS. Well, nothing to worry as there is therapy/treatment available for overcoming PVS. A small helpful tip – Do cell phone fasting; a way to keep yourself away from your phone and from the syndrome too.

“Do you buy vehicles based on their power of honking?” this was the question put to me by one of my global CIO who happened to visit India couple of weeks back. He stays in Australia and he was visiting India for the second time after almost 9 years. “Is there no fine for too much honking?” “Why do motorist honk so much when they know the car is going to crawl?” I was bombarded with so many questions and I was in a fix as to what to respond.

The only answer I could come up with was there were so many pedestrians and bikers and hence to avoid any untoward incidents, the horn is used. It was an embarrassing moment for me as I am well aware that rest of the countries honking is an offence. During my brief stay in America I had noticed it that honking is not at all allowed. Although I did hear a fair bit of cars honking in New York – but nothing compares to what you hear in India.

The very next day I checked on the noise level in the city and was shocked to read that a recent report published by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) last month revealed startling facts about noise level in the city. A four years long study, CPCB concluded that Mumbai is India’s noisiest city, also has the dubious distinction of being one of the noisiest in the world. The worrying fact is that the noise level exceeds the prescribed allowable level by 100 percent. If such high level decibels persist then it’ll harm us only in near future.

India is a country which celebrates so many different festivals across all religions and hence the celebrations of these do add up the noise levels in the city. It will help all of us if we all understand the impact of the higher decibels and celebrate all the festivals by trying to control the noise level within the limited range.

The most and highest noise pollution is of honking. If all the motorist try and reduce the amount of honking during their traveling it will definitely help reduce the decibels in the city. Just imagine the conditions of the police man/woman who are on duty and controlling traffic. These are the people who bear the brunt of it all.

When in Dubai last year, I did feel the peace while walking / traveling on road as here too honking is banned. In Mumbai too when I am driving I feel better when my car windows are closed.

The other day when I was out with my daughter & niece in the car, I stopped at the signal; a public transport bus next to us was continuously honking. It was a shock for me to hear my niece (6 years old) and my daughter (11 years old) discussing on noise pollution. My niece also mentioned, that in school they too have been taught on the harmful effects of noise pollution. And it left me wondering – if the kids knew it, how come the adults don’t or do they just not pay heed to it all?

Well, it’s about time the Motor Vehicles Department (RTO) of our country, brings out an awareness campaign against noise pollution & also implements stringent laws against unnecessary honking and ensure that we all abide to the rules and there reduce all that “shor” (which means noise) in the city.

A is for Apple. I mean not the fruit but one of the most trusted brand in recent times. One of my favourite and would-never-let-go brand.

B is for Bombay. Now it is called Mumbai, thanks to some politicians. But I still say Bombay and I simply love the word Bombay.

OR

B is for Beef. You can show it on TV but the word will be bleeped out on radio and sub-titles as this is a banned item in Maharashtra. Well I don’t have it at all.

C is for Censor Board. The most talked body who decides to give viewership ratings to the bollywood movies. The body which allows all type of violence, vulgarity and holism in movies but does not allow the word “Bombay”.

D is for Daughter. Am proud to be father of cute, loving and adorable daughter. She is the world to me and I cannot imagine myself without her.

E is for Emojis. The latest trend of expressing your thoughts in ways of emoticons in social media.

F is for Friends. Friends are also my lifeline. Each and every friend is near and dear to me. And I am a person who will not forget any of my friends so easily.

G is for Good morning. Well most of you must be receiving my Good morning messages everyday in the morning. This is my way to reach people every day.

H is Hemang. Ok that’s me and I am what I am.

I is for India. My country and I proud to say am Indian. India is a country having multi-culture and diversity. Well if I start writing about my country then this post will never end 🙂 .

J is for Jealousy. Not my cup of tea, so let me not get into it.

K is for Kiss. A passionate way of expressing your feeling to the opposite person.

L is for Love. Love is a big word with a small definition. Love can be boundless, unrestricted and has no ends. Love can be between friends, family, brothers-sisters, husband-wife, children and so on.

M is for Music; an integral part of me. I love to hear Music in my free time be it at home or office or while driving or while morning walk.

OR

M is for Mumbaiya Hindi. A different type of Hindi language spoken within Mumbai city.

N is for Net Neutrality. No matter what your faith or political affiliation, its politically correct to support Net Neutrality. When it comes to standing up to greedy Internet Service Providers, then we are one people after all.

O is for Outrage / Offence / Opinion. One is what everybody is free to have. One is what everyone has right to give. One is a reaction of the other two. You have two minutes to solve this 🙂

P is for Panauti. Almost all Indians believe in this superstitious word. Every one passes thru some stage of Panauti in life. Well even our Indian cricketer team too were not spared from this. Cyber bullies attributed India’s defeat in the last World cup to the inauspicious presence of wife and girlfriends.

Q is for Quota. Looking for a government job, admission to college, darshan to a temple, or just a seat on a bus or train ? Just go through the Q word before you try any of the above. If you have a disability, or are a sports person or a victim of a terror attack, a child of a freedom fighter, former military service person or a tribal domiciled then you fit in the Q and if none of the above then you are into General Category. Well its surprising to know how many people are still left into General Category.

R is for Rape. Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. As per the research 98% of the cases are committed by someone known to the victim. Lots of awareness is spread on social media in terms videos and messages to stop this gruesome crime.

S is for Selfie. Smartphones has helped to justify the definition of the word Selfie. All these years anyone hardly knew what it meant and today the world is busy clicking Selfies.

T is for Terrorism. The most dreaded word everyone is afraid of and has spread across the globe like a virus. There is not a single country which is free from Terrorism.

U is USA. A dream destination.

V is for Vacation. Most awaited time of the year where you can be free from the stress of day-to-day work, relax and spend some quality time with your family.

W is for Whatsapp. A game changer in way of communication but an addiction app for chatting. Although useful to keep intouch with rest of the world but many times a headache (that’s my feelings).

X is X-rated. Recently government of India ordered to ban 857 pornographic websites. This ban is for preventing Child pornography which is illegal in India. But does banning of 857 websites will help curb this issue?

Y is for Yelling. In earlier days Yelling was for those who had weak arguments. But these days yelling is a way to make yourself heard over the news channel by the hosts (I am sure you guessed it correct).

Z is for Zero. Has no value but if written at the right place than most valuable.